My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
I am not worried, I am not overly concerned.
My friend implores me, "For one time only,
Make an exception. " I am not worried.
Wrap her up in a package of lies,
Send her off to a coconut island.
I am not worried, I am not overly concerned with the status of my emotions.
"Oh," she says, "you're changing."
We're always changing...

It does not bother me to say this isn't love.
Because if you don't want to talk about it then it isn't love.
And I guess I'm gonna have to live with that.
But I'm sure there's something in a shade of grey,
Or something in between,
And I can always change my name
If that's what you mean.

My friend assures me, "It's all or nothing."
But I am not really worried, I am not overly concerned.
You try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself
To make yourself forget. To make yourself forget. I am not worried.
"If it's love," she said, "then we're gonna have to think about the consequences."
But she can't stop shaking and I can't stop touching her and...

This time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away. And Anna begins to change her mind.
"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days," she says.
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing.

But I'm not gonna break and I'm not gonna worry about it anymore.
I'm not gonna bend, and I'm not gonna break. And I'm not going to worry about it anymore.
It seems like I should say, "As long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy, so maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net and pin her down on a photograph album.
I am not worried cuz I've done this sort of thing before.
But then I start to think about the consequences,
And I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...

This time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away. And Anna begins to change my mind.
And everytime she sneezes I believe it's love and,
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing.

She's talking in her sleep.
It's keeping me awake. And Anna begins to toss and turn.
And every word is nonsense but I understand and,
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing.

Her kindness bangs a gong,
It's moving me along. And Anna begins to fade away.
It's chasing me away. She disappears, and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing.

Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/counting_crows/anna_begins.html

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songmeanings

I disagree. I think he falls in love with her but is in denial. He doesn't want the responsibility. At first, he denies it completely then starts to realize he is falling in love. Anna does the same thing but because of his refusal to comitt, she leaves him in the end. The key is, shes keeping me awake, every word she says is nonsense, but I understand it all. That's love. He just denies it. As far as wrap her up in a pacage of lies means, he is talking about sending her away because he senses the possibility of love or else she acts like shes in love already but hes not! He wants to nip that bud in the begining but. Doesn't. This is sad because I'm sure this happens alot. People don't express themselves enough and others don't understand that and so as a result they put their own meanings into what others feel. She was wrong I think. He did love her. But she took his refusal to act as not love and split!

I think it is about a summer romance that he was not expecting, that he wasn't ready for. His friends tells him that he can either have her or not have her. So he has to make a decision. He's unsure at first, but as he spends more time with her, he realizes that he really wants to be with her. He falls in love with her and thinks she also loves him. He realizes that she is very kind and her kindness also helps him make his decision. At the end of the song, he makes his decision that he wants to be with her. So during the rest of the song he is with her. She moves him along all during the rest of the song. Then at the end, the summer ends, and she "disappears" and then the songs ends with him realizing that he wont see her again but he loves her. And the last line explains that he is not ready to be in love.

I always thought it was about a man who is involved with a woman that has serious sexual issues, and he's trying to stay with her, but she can't stay with him. At first, she's a conquest, a sample for his album. Then he starts falling for her, and she finally relents and they do it, but "these seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days". Then he starts to fall for her, and she can't commit.
But what the heck do I know?

His friend warns him of the dangers of an affair. But he's not worried about falling in love. He tells Anna what she wants to hear, lies to her, romances her. It's no big deal to him because he doesn't love her. He's had many affairs. She's just another in his butterfly collection. If it was love they'd have to think about the consequences because they're married and wouldn't be able to be together or rip their families apart. But it's just a harmless affair so there are no worries. But then Anna's starts to fall in love and she admits she's not ready for the consequences. He is overcome by her and by the time he realizes how in love he is with her. She is gone. He realizes the one thing he wasn't ready for was loosing her love.

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